What’s behind Australia’s “Best Jobs in the World” tourism stunt?

Australia has the double whammy of an economic problem & the tyranny of distance, and needs workers to spur tourism jobs, and in turn build up tourism itself.

— Rafat Ali

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Behind Australia’s “Best Jobs in the World” promotion lies a serious goal: resuscitating the country’s tourism industry, which…has about 36,000 unfilled positions and has been hit hard by a strong Australian dollar.

The campaign aims to promote Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program, in which 18- to 30-year-olds from nearly 30 countries can spend a year living and working Down Under…The country is in the midst of a mining boom that has lured thousands of young workers into resource-related fields, leaving tourism short of skilled labor.

And the Australian dollar, which has soared in recent years because of the mining boom, has driven up costs, discouraging young tourists at precisely the time when they are most needed to offset those labor shortages.

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